St. Louis Rams

The war of words between Mike Zimmer and Jeff Fisher has spilled over into the following week. I say they just settle this the old school way… Street Fighter II: Turbo Edition battle. But that’s just me…

MOVING ON! The Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings (6-2) are tied for the 5th best record in the NFL and have a share of the NFC North lead as we roll into Oakland to take on the suddenly not terribad Oakland Raiders and fellow sophomore quarterback phenom Derek Carr.

We welcome Di Murphy (@DiMurphyMN) of The Daily Norseman back in to talk about the Lamarcus Joyner cheap shot on Teddy, the reputation of Gregg Williams and Jeff Fisher, how we can get a win Sunday in The Black Hole, and the absurdity of Stan Kroenke vs The Media’s #Bathroomgate.

The Minnesota Fightin’ Vikings grabbed a share of the NFC North lead with a rough and tumble 21-18 overtime win Sunday over the St. Louis Rams. That should be the headline, but it’s not. All Vikings fans already hated defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, but now we somehow hate him with the fury of a thousand suns after something-called-Lamarcus Joyner threw his elbow into Teddy Bridgewater’s face as the second-year quarterback was sliding. Us Vikings fans cannot separate the fact that we have history with Captain Bountygate, but I try not to dwell on that storyline as our 6-2 Vikes have a solid young team with a great leader in Mike Zimmer and may make some noise come playoff time. Heal up, Teddy and let’s roll.

Other “Gregg Williams Should Be Deported to Mars” Talking Points Include
• I love you Mike Zimmer. So so much.
• LOL Green Bay
• Teddy Before the Cheapshot
• Where You At Mike Wallace?
• The Offensive Line is Back!
• Old Adrian Peterson is Like 2013 Kobe
• Linval Joseph for MVP
• Containing Todd Gurley
• Trae Waynes is a UFO
• Stefon Diggs Held Quiet
• Zimmer going for the Morninwheg in OT (But it worked and was smart)
• Random Game Thoughts
• On to Oakland
• Bookmark us on Amazon & show some love!

This week, we decided to go with a more league-wide, open-ended question. All the VT writers had a fun time with this one, and we hope you do too! Please share your own thoughts in the comments and take our poll!

Adam:Seattle Seahawks
Two seasons ago the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. Last season they came insanely close. Having the ultra-cheap franchise quarterback for one more offseason certainly won’t hurt their odds of making another championship run. Beast Mode is back, and perhaps no team added a more talented player this offseason than Seattle got in Jimmy Graham. Their Draft wasn’t perfect by personal estimations, but they invested in their offensive line and I think Towson corner Tye Smith could establish himself in the Legion of Boom.

Their offseason was pretty good, but why I think they are the biggest “winner” for 2015 has to do with their biggest nemesis completely imploding. San Francisco’s offseason looks like it was written by George R. R. Martin, and Seattle seemingly has a much easier path to the NFC West throne as a result.

Brent:Miami Dolphins
There a couple of teams who jump to mind with the Vikings, Dolphins and Bills having great offseasons in my opinion. Ultimately, I think the Dolphins have had the best. They signed Ryan Tannehill and Maurkice Pouncey to contract extensions, ensuring some consistency with a young team. They also signed one of the better defenders in the game in Ndamukong Suh in free agency and added promising young receiver Kenny Stills. Within the draft, the Fins added DeVante Parker and Jordan Phillips in the first two rounds and running back Jay Ajayi late. The Dolphins were on the cusp last year, and I think their strong offseason positioned them well for the long term.

Not that this should surprise anybody, but “sources” reported today that the St. Louis Rams have already decided to trade the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. According to those same “sources,” they have had discussions with the Browns, Redskins and Dolphins (again, big surprise). Robert Griffin III’s stellar performance at the combine over the weekend pretty much sealed the deal that someone would move up into the Ram’s position to take the speedy quarterback from Baylor.

(Note: Take this with a grain of salt. Nothing is certain or official… And these pesky “sources” seem to jump the gun quite often. But ESPN’s Adam Schefter has even said the Rams will be trading the pick and he is almost always accurate in his reporting.)

What does this mean for our Vikings? Well, it means that we can have whoever our little hearts desire (that is, as long as their name doesn’t end in “Luck” or roman numerals). Moreover, it means Matt Kalil will almost definitely be in purple next year, protecting quarterback Christian Ponder’s blindside from Lions, Packers and Bears for many years to come. As we reported a couple days ago, Kalil had a good showing this past weekend at the combine and solidified his status as the best offensive tackle in this year’s draft class.

While they are unlikely, here are some other directions the Vikings could take on draft day now that we know what will be happening with the #2 pick.

Trade the pick. (Very unlikely, though.. After Griffin, there really isn’t anyone good enough to trade up to the #3 spot for. But, who knows? Anything’s possible.)

Select wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

Select cornerback Morris Claiborne.

Surprise (infuriate) everyone and do something completely unexpected.

A lot can happen in the next 58 days leading up to the draft and free agency will undoubtedly affect the Vikings draft strategy. But, with every passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Vikings will finally address a need that the team seemingly has had forever with Matt Kalil. Eventually, we’ll move past the third pick and begin to speculate more heavily about what the Vikings will do in the rest of the draft.